News Bits | 19 September 2013

IDEAS OF THE DAY (SEE SEPARATE REPORTS FOR DETAILS)

l  Sector Update: Media

l  Company Update: NAIM

l  On Our Radar: SCGM

l  On Our Technical Watch: BIMB, GUOCO

l  Economic Viewpoint: August Inflation Rate

 

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

l  AirAsia X seals Thai pact

l  Berjaya Food net profit soars in Q1

l  Malaysia Airports aborts joint venture with Atoz to manage airport hotel

l  Oil and gas job for Puncak Niaga

l  AMMB now plans to sell up to 51.0% of life unit

l  KPS declares special dividend of 26.7sen

FOREIGN NEWS HIGHLIGHTS           

l  Boeing, Air Lease finalize USD9.4b order for Dreamliner jets

l  Google CEO seeks to tackle health, aging with new company

 

ECONOMIC NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (MACRO BITS)

Global

l  Emerging Mart Banks, Firms Borrow US$6trl

Malaysia

l  Inflation In August Tapered Slightly To 1.9% YoY

Asia

l  Asia Business Sentiment Drops Sharply In Third Quarter

l  China Home Prices Rise For Eighth Straight Month

l  Vietnam's Bad Debts Hit 4.58% Of Loans At End-July

USA

l  Fed Refrains From QE Taper, Keeps Bond Buying At $85b

l  Home Starts Weaker Than Forecast As Fed Keeps Qe

l  CEO Expectations For U.S. Economy Ease As Headwinds Persist

Europe

l  Bank Of England Upgrades UK Growth Forecast

l  Portugal’s Rating May Be Cut If Targets Are Missed, S&P Says

l  Cyprus To End Capital Control In January

Currencies

l  Dollar Index Falls To 7-Month Low On Fed Decision

Commodities

l  Oil Tops $108 On U.S. Crude Supply Drop, Fed

l  Gold Soars 4.2 Pct After Fed's Surprise On Stimulus